So I'm an idiot and spilled beer on my keyboard. It was only a little and went mostly on the arrow keys. Turned it off immediately although it did stay on when the spill occured.

Put it in a bag of rice and kept it off for 2 days. Brought it to an apple store and asked for a diagnosis. He said everything looked fine, no corrosion. He didn't turn it on though.

To my dismay I come home and it will not power on. No click no beep no sounds at all. The battery is behaving normally. I tried disconnecting the battery from the logic board and using the charger but no luck. Reconnected it and tried resetting the SMC but nothing.

What else can I try :-( this would be a serious blow to my livelyhood haha

You people are ridiculous. What happened to this forum? It used to be helpful. Do you think I don't already know its my fault? Did you even read my post? Its not like I'm the only person ever that has had a drink near a laptop. I don't want an ethics lesson, I want to know if its something that could be a cheap fix. The genius said at the time said I might need a new topcase, could my power button just be broken?

Well if the logic board isn't damaged then don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom.

Just take it back in a ask for a repair (you will have to pay).

If it's just the topcase then it won't be anywhere near the price of a new laptop. So yeah, doesn't sound too bad to me. I did the same and had no trackpad at all due to logic damage. It took me a year to buy a new one because nothing I could do in the end.

well i took it back and they want to charge me $755 just to diagnos the issue so I'm gonna go the DIY route.

I've seen a few threads about "jump starting" the laptop using the keyboard connector on the logic board.

can anyone shed some light on this or another way? Although I dont know exactly what is wrong with it I'm starting with that. The liquid sensors weren't tripped, and none of the beer spilled near the logic board, and the two things that it did spill near, (battery and hard drive) are completely functional.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, or lazy, but I've typed up HUGE posts in the past with all the info you need, and then some. Perform a search, use my screen name, and "distilled water", or "drying electronics". There are many other threads you can search, but I know what's in my own.

Well, something needs to be replaced - maybe the keyboard. If you're going DIY, you'll just have to replace it part by part until you get it right.

Click to expand...

could i do something like jump it with the keyboard disconnected and run it with an external keyboard? and to big tdi guy, When i spilled it, I immediately turned it off and it sat in a bag of rice for 2 days. I'm not really looking for how to clean it at this point since I've done all I can do at this point for that and there are no signs of liquid damage. (says the apple genuis)

if there is no sign of liquid damage and u bought it late 2010, then it is still covered under warranty. if it was me, i just take it to apple and tell them it doesnt turn on somehow. they will have to replace watever they need to replace to get it working again. So go put on some Hollywood acting and good luck

if there is no sign of liquid damage and u bought it late 2010, then it is still covered under warranty. if it was me, i just take it to apple and tell them it doesnt turn on somehow. they will have to replace watever they need to replace to get it working again. So go put on some Hollywood acting and good luck

Click to expand...

I can try this but its in their system? I don't know if they will see that or not. and a few of the keys are sticky. I guess at this point I might as well try even if they call me out. time for a different apple store.

If you actually read through that other thread, you'd understand that the "sticky stuff" is a serious problem, and WILL lead to further damage.

But if you're not willing to even read up on it, your loss, not mine.

Click to expand...

I've dealt with this before, I spilled soda on my old powerbook and it worked with sticky keys for about 6 months and then died.

Are you tell me that sticky arrow keys can cause corrosion on the logic board which is basically on the opposite side of the machine? I don't really get that. Its not like I've turned it on anyway haha.

When you just drink around and spill on your Mac and blame other people for it, its just retarded.
Its not Apples fault that they gave you a false reading, first of all its your problem for spilling crap on there.

no-beer causes the corrosion that can do the damage. think about it. it's beer. it's corrosive.

Sorry, don't mean to be rude, but it seems kinda obvious to me. Getting liquid in something as expensive and fragile as this just surprises me. I never keep any liquid close to mine at all.

it seems like your options are to try and fix it yourself, or ask the apple store guys to fix it. doubt any warranty or applecare applies anymore, since you probably set off one of the liquid sensors/detectors/paper/whatever they use.

you people just straight up aren't understanding what I'm saying or are not even reading the thread. next time you feel bad for being rude, maybe read the thread and you won't have that problem.

when did I blame someone else? I'm pretty sure the first words out of my mouth were "I'm an idiot"

And how do I know apple gave me a false reading? If the liquid sensors aren't tripped, the liquid sensors aren't tripped. If the guy doesn't know how to read a liquid sensor as a mac genius, then I don't know what to say.

And jesus, I know beer causes corrosion. THERE IS NO CORROSION ON THE LOGIC BOARD. The guy tested my hard drive and all the data was there. The battery charges. I don't know if one can "test" the logic board but you can generally see when something is corroded. The first genius sent me home saying it should be fine. Obviously he is slightly wrong but don't you all get it? He said worst case scenario I might need a new top case. If you think about all the factors and what he found, it makes sense.

im very tired of hearing "blah blah you shouldnt have had liquid near it". please read the whole thread before you respond.

OP, I don't know if your last post is directed at me, but I assure you I read all the posts in a thread before I even think about replying.

As far as the corrosion thing, that is my fault. I read a post incorrectly- the one where you talked about the sticky keys. I interpreted it wrong. I am sorry.

I think there is probably something wrong with your logic board, though, otherwise why would you have problems turning it on? Unless the power button is broken or something obscure like that...

Also, adding that clause at the beginning of your thread about people reading the whole thing before replying is, quite frankly, rude.

Click to expand...

you seem to have also missed the part where i said the liquid sensors weren't tripped. doesn't it seem odd to you that the logic board could be damaged by liquid that wasnt even enough to trip the sensors?

and sorry tiki i somehow missed that video. will try that in the morning. i still can't really see which two to try and jump though. there are a bunch of ribbons plugged in that I don't want to take off unless i have too

MacRumors attracts a broad audience
of both consumers and professionals interested in
the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on
purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.